The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-14
ESTABLISHED 1850.
j. II. EsTILL, Editor and Proprietor
ILLINOIS BRIDGE CRASH.
THE RAILROAD COMMISSIONERS
BEGIN THEIR INQUIRY.

men Describe the Appearance of the
Fire as the Train Rushed Into 1.-THE
Fire Seen Several Hours Before the
Disaster by the People in the vi
cinity. "
CHICAGO, Aug. 13-The Times special
from Chatsworth says: The Board of Rail
road Commissioners arrived at noon yester-
day, and began an investigation of the re-
cent disaster. j. j. Switzerland, one of the
engineers of the train was sworn. He said
he was the engineer running the leading en-
Cine. The train was behind time 1t started
from Peoria thirty minutes late The train
was two hours late when it drew out of For
est He saw as he approached the bridge,
what seemed to be flames on the South side
of the track He then saw that something
was wrong with the bridge, but it was too
late to do anything. His fireman called to
him to jump and leaped from the engine
He got on the foot board to prepare him
self for whatever came, but made up his
mind not to jump. When he first
saw the bridge it looked like en-
bers. 1t seemed to burst into
flames when he ran on the bridge. 1t was
not raging fire, nor did it communicate
with the cars on the bridge He saw, as he
expressed it, death staring him in the
face" He shut off the steam and felt the
bridge sink. He then opened the valve to
get tho train through The force of the
train pushed the engine over breaking it
loose from the tender. He stopped the en-
gine and ran back to the wreck. The witness
carried water and extinguished everything in
the nature of fire. He was running between
thirty and thirty-five miles per hour He
had no power to stop the train between the
time he saw the fire and his arrival at the
bridge His engine had no air brake neither
was the whistle sounded for lack of time
There could be no doubt of the bridge being
on fire. When the engines crossed the
flames were famed by the passage of the
train.
THE FIREMAN's STORY.
John Rogers, fireman of Engineer Souther-
lands engine, was sworn. He saw a little
fire on the side of the track, near the bridge,
on the night of the accident. He observed
sparks rising and Goals in the centre of the
track and jumped from the engine, calling
to his engineer to follow The witness
and another fireman ran the engine
TO the citizens of the town. He
thought the bridge was burned away
when he jumped. The train was running
pretty fast when the accident occurred.
Axle Applegreen, the fireman of the second
engine on the train was sworn. The wit
ness was leaning on the sill of the cab win
dow on the left hand side, when the engine
jumped up in the air and turned over
on its side. He was scared and thought
'he was gone" He saw nothing of
the fire at the time of the accident but
sew it Immediately afterwards.
THE SUPERINTENDENT STORY.
Z of
road, was sworn. He was on the excursion
at the time of the accident. The train was
carefully inspected at Peoria, under his su-
pervision. 1t was to run through to the
Falls, and consisted of six sleepers, two
chair cars five ordinary coaches, a pay car,
baggage car and two engines. The en-
gineer's watch stopped at AS o'clock, and
he Judges that this was the exact time Of the
accident The witness felt the front engineer
reverse his engine and apply the brake about
500 feet from the bridge. He looked down
and saw the burning bridge under the front
platform. Men with axes chopped down the
abutments so as to kill the flames. The fire
evidently caught in the east end of the
bridge, and was working down in the old
stringers used for bulk-heads Orders were
issued by him to the section hands to burn
the dead grass and weeds.
THE BRIDGE INSPECTOR.
j. H. Marldey, bridge inspector, on May
IA reported the bridge in good condition
and good for two years. The upper works
were but fourteen months old, and the
bridge was reported to the witness to be in
good condition. On Tuesday last he ordered
the section men to go over the entire
sections under their charge and in
spect the bridges. He did this for fear
OF forest fires. This order was sent to En-
MS, division foreman at Gilman, and or
aered all the section men to go over their
sections the last thing Wednesday night
and examine the bridges. The train was
running from thirty to forty miles per
hour. The road is in fine condition and has
steel rails with fish bars.
THE INSPECTION MADE.
Timothy Coughlin, the section boss and
Christian Ennis, the roadmaster, also teSti-
ned CoughlinS section extends from two
ana halt miles west to four miles east of
Chatsworth. He swore that pursuant to in
structons he went over his section Wednes-
aay afternoon, beginning at the east end at
Soclock and ending at the west end in the
evening. he was at the bridge which was
burned at $50 o'clock, and it was then all
right. The weeds had been burned
all along the track on both sides
week or ten days previously, and there
was nothing under or near the bridge ex-
c!ept the naked earth. After he left the
bridge, the first train that passed was the
ui,lated excursion train.
hoadmaster Ennis testified that he had
ordered the section bosses all along the line
10 thoroughly inspect their sections in the
afternoon and evening of Wednesday, and
aad given such orders by instruction of
oupt Armstrong. He passed over the bridge
east OF Chatsworth at o'clock standing on
tne rear platform of the caboose, from
which he was inspecting the track, and his
traln was the last that passed over the
bridge until the ill-fated excursion train
reached it,, He believed that the bridge was
set on iire.S Three years ago two attempts
10 wreck trains by piling obstructions on
ane track were made in the vicinity.
THE FIRE SEEN BY A FARMER.
A. I. Dolph, farmer residing near the
bridge, saw smoke there about o'clock, and
IRE about . O'Clock. He thought that it
was on the other side of the track.' j. E.
brown, of Chatsworth, saw fire from the
depot, and watched it from 9 to IL o'clock
al night. He thought it was a locomotive
headlight at Gilman.
William Hallen and son, of Chatsworth,
testified that while standing at the depot at
o'5O o'clock Wednesday evening they saw
ure on the track out east and thought 1t was
a locomotive headlight. At 9 o'clock, when
they went to bed, the fire was still burning.
=, julius Keopte, of Chatsworth, also saw
the fire at the same time and thought 1t was
train coming
Three train men testified that Wednesday
tlaA